[QUOTE=D_BaldStockings;6559488]
As the proposed amendment to the current law reads, in part:
6 ‘’(1) The term ‘action device’ means any boot,
7 collar, chain, roller, or other device that encircles or
8 is placed upon the lower extremity of the leg of a
9 horse in such a manner that it can—
10 ‘’(A) rotate around the leg or slide up and
11 down the leg, so as to cause friction; or
12 ‘’(B) strike the hoof, coronet band, fetlock
13 joint, or pastern of the horse.’’;
This would include outlawing purely protective bell boots. I take it that TWH do not overreach and clip themselves at any time when gaiting so need never wear protective boots on a show grounds?
I can’t say the same for many people warming up horses of other breeds in other disciplines - Dressage horses often are booted from coronet to knee in front.
Horses that rack instead of run-walk wear protective boots that touch the coronet band so they are to risk injury?
I suppose I don’t understand why making a poorly enforced, selectively enforced and apparently non-enforced law more restrictive and generalizing in ways that could negatively affect those who don’t sore horses is a better choice than putting teeth into enforcing the existing legislation.
Saying “you oughtn’t do ABC (fill in the blank) because if you don’t we will maybe slap your wrist and tell you further that you oughtn’t do D”
Is not nearly the deterrent that “Doing ABC will result in everyone connected to the sore horse beiing fined/ eliminated/ excluded from showing any horse for X months, years or finally permanently”
Perhaps I am wrong, but new laws are as easily not-enforceable as old ones.
If the horse is sore, does the method of creating soreness make a difference? Shouldn’t all soring, no matter what new and horrific method is employed be equally actionable?
Why pick on boots?
I have experienced people thinking passing laws will stop bad behavior. And working hard to pass laws that are then applied randomly just as the earlier law was.
Seriously, enforcing laws works better than making more of them.
I do hope the plan to end soring works, although I don’t think it will end the BL look, if that is the real desire.
And I won’t be happy if I have a horse that needs boots for protection and a letter-of-the-law person finds fault with that.[/QUOTE]
I believe that the bell boots in question are weighted bell boots. These are not therapeutic or protective.
In dressage shows, you are right, horses warm up in polo wraps, sport boots, bell boots, whatever. But when they enter the ring, all that stuff has to come off. If the horse cannot compete in a class without being wrapped then it doesn’t need to be competing. Also, horse are not permitted to warmup in side reins or draw reins. This does not mean people don’t use them at home, plenty do, but at a show they are not allowed in warmup or in classes. At the regional championships, a trainer is not allowed to warm up a horse for a competitor. All of this levels the playing field and makes sure that competitors can ride and show there horses without assistance or devices. The TW people can still load up the horse with training devices at home, but they should have to take it all off at a show, including the platform shoes, and let the true gaits shine through. This keeps it fair and doesn’t give the sorers and the cheaters an unfair advantage.
